Calling students and teachers! 

My debut novel, Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, is the story of 12-year-old Cricket and a field cricket named Charlene who find adventure in an overgrown  ghost town in Electric City, Mississippi. They follow a thirty-year-old clue trail left by an eccentric artist in search of a secret room that may or may not exist–all to try to win back Cricket’s run-away mother. Cricket must use her wits and just a smidgen of luck to live off the land in a Mississippi winter and put together the pieces of an increasingly baffling puzzle. 

Just like time spent outdoors, reading can be an adventure! Join me, Cricket, and Charlene in these fun activities: 

 Nature Activities 

 

Cricket Challenges 

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Bloom Bingo Challenge 

Nature Wonder Hour

Create a Discovery Center 

A Quick Woods Time Meditation Activity

5-Minute Flower Arrangement

10 Fun Things to do this Summer 

3 Ways to Make Your Mornings Happier – With Nature 

3 Ways to Make Your Evenings Happier – With Nature 

3 Ways to Use the Power of Nature to Make this a Terrific Summer

 

Reading Activities 

 

Reading Bingo Challenge 

Taking Your Reading Adventure to the Next Level 

No Rules Reading 

 

Activities with Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe: 

 

Follow the Clue Trail 

Explore Cricket’s World 

Explore Cricket’s Mississippi 

Activity Book 

Hidden Object Search

 

 

Teachers! There are resources for you too!

 

Writing 

 

Using Fiction to Explore Nature 

Writing and Revision Tool Kit 

Building Empathy Through Writing – Exercise 

 

Using Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe

 

Trailer for Educators 

Educator Guide  

The Music Playlist 

Building Grit Kit Online Trivia Game 

Book Club Discussion Guide 

Book Club Menu 

Activity Book 

Free Lesson Plans 

Lesson Plans with ETV 

Cross-Curricular Program